Sealed double glazing unit

ABSTRACT

A sealed double glazing unit having an outer pane with a countersunk hole punched in a corner thereof, and an inner pane with a hole punched in a corner thereof, opposed to the countersunk hole in the outer pane. A generally cylindrical liner is inserted into the countersunk hole in the outer pane, a bottom of the liner extending into, without passing through, the countersunk hole in the outer pane. A glazing unit is secured to a supporting member by a fixing member which is fixed through the liner, and a sealing member engages the holes in the inner and outer panes. This sealing member includes a guide ring having the same diameter as the diameter of the bottom of the liner, with a front end of the guide ring extending into the countersunk hole and abutting against the bottom of the liner. The sealing member also includes a ring-shaped boss concentric with and encircling the guide ring, the ring-shaped boss having an inner diameter that is larger than an outer diameter of the guide ring such that a space is formed between the guide ring and the boss. This space is bridged by a plurality of connecting parts extending between the outer diameter of the guide ring and the inner diameter of the ring-shaped boss.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a sealed double glazing unit used toconstruct the outer wall of a building with glass panes, and moreparticularly to a sealed double glazing unit with a sealing member foraccomplishing heat insulation and soundproof properties by sealing theperimeter of fixing holes used to mount glass panes.

BACKGROUND ART

The technology has been used which constructs glass wall by fixing glasspanes to a building wall by means of fixing means to obtain theaesthetic appearance and good transparency. But, there occurs a problemthat to facilitate the execution for fixing the glass panes asstructural elements of the glass wall to the building, employing asingle glass pane deteriorates heat insulation and soundproofproperties.

To solve the above-mentioned problem, the technology of constructingglass wall with double-glass panes instead of single-glass panes hasbeen disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 93-9113 (Glazing unitsand glass assemblies with an array of a plurality of glazing units) andJapanese Laid-open patent No. Pyung 9-177442 (Multi-layer glass andsupporting structure for the multi-layer glass).

The glazing units disclosed in the Korean patent publication No. 93-9113are sealed double glazing units and comprises a fixing assemblyconsisting of a fixing bolt, a bush and a boss and fixing the glazingunits to the plate member at least one fixing position, wherein thefixing assembly comprising a bush and a boss is attached to one of theglass panes in a manner which permits the unit to flex under wind loadwithout impairing the seal of the unit, and at both sides of a bosslocated between an outer pane and an inner pane of the unit, an rubberring is provided. But, to seal the holes punched in an outer pane and aninner pane of the unit, since a lot of processes are required forassembling the fixing elements of the fixing assembly, such as a fixingbolt, a bush, a boss and rubber rings, the above-mentioned invention isinappropriate to the process for mass producing, thereby decreasing theproductivity, and since the fixing assembly is fixed to the plate memberof a building while it supports any one part of an outer pane and aninner pane of the unit, and thus the safety is deteriorated.

Meanwhile, double glazing units and the supporting structure for thedouble glazing units disclosed in the Japanese Laid-open patent relatesto sealing the holes punched in an outer pane and an inner pane of theunit separately from the fixing assembly of the unit to solve theproblem of the above-mentioned unit, wherein at an outer pane, a firstfixing hole is provided, a second fixing hole is provided at thecorresponding position to that of a first fixing hole, a second spacerhaving a larger diameter than that of the air layer side of these fixingholes, is arranged around the holes, a glass liner which conforms theshape of inner peripheral surface of the first fixing hole is arrangedprojecting more than 3 mm toward the air layer side, and a secondsealing is conducted within the space defined by the outer pane, theinner pane, the second spacer and the projecting part of the glassliner.

But, the fabricating process through automatic production line for thedouble glazing units comprises the steps of: washing an outer pane andan inner pane of double glazing units; preparing a space for a hole inthe outer pane, for inserting a liner into the hole therein, whilepre-washed outer pane is ready; inserting the liner into the hole;attaching a tape for fixing the liner to the outer pane; positioning theouter pane at the original position; inserting an auxiliary tool forlocating a spacer with respect to the hole; attaching the spacer to aninner peripheral surface of the outer pane by the auxiliary tool;separating the auxiliary tool; connecting the washed inner pane. It isnecessary to reconstruct the existing facilities in the automaticproduction line for the sake of the liner inserting step and the tapeattaching step, with the result that expensive automatic robots areadded to the line, thereby deteriorating the productivity, and it isalso necessary to remove the reconstructed facilities when fabricatingthe existing double glazing units. Also, there is a problem that addingthe inserting and separating steps of the auxiliary tool for attachingthe spacer causes the deterioration of the productivity.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a sealed doubleglazing unit comprising a sealing member having simple structure, forsealing the holes in an outer pane and an inner pane of the unit whilemaintaining the separate distance stable.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sealed doubleglazing unit for facilitating the filling of sealing compound.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a sealed doubleglazing unit comprising: an outer pane having a countersunk hole punchedin a corner thereof; an inner pane having a hole punched in a cornerthereof and opposed to the hole in an outer pane and having largerdiameter than that of the hole punched in the outer pane; a linerinserted into the countersunk hole in the outer pane; a fixing memberfixed through the liner to a supporting member of the wall body of abuilding; a sealing member for sealing holes in the outer pane. and theinner pane together with a sealing compound; and a supporting memberhaving a hole through which a bolt passes, and fastened with a nut.

In one embodiment, the sealing member comprises: a guide ring having thesame diameter as that of the liner, outer peripheral surface of thefront end of the guide ring which extends to approach the bottom of theliner fitted into the countersunk hole in the outer pane fitted with theinner peripheral surface of the hole in the outer pane; a plurality ofconnecting parts which extend outwardly from at least three positions inthe middle of the outer peripheral surface of the guide ring, forpreparing a sealing space; a ring-shaped boss formed integrally with theguide ring and the connecting parts, two sides of the ring-shaped bossattached to the inner surfaces of the outer pane and the inner pane withbutyl, where in the sealing space defined by the inner pane, the outerpane and the sealing member is filled with sealing compound.

In another embodiment, the bottom of a liner inserted into a countersunkhole in an outer pane extends to the vicinity of the hole in an innerpane, and a sealing member has a boss and a plurality of connectingparts integrally formed without a guide ring.

In yet another embodiment, the bottom of a liner inserted into acountersunk hole in an outer pane extends to the vicinity of the hole inan inner pane, and the is width of a guide ring is the same as those ofthe connecting parts and is smaller than that of the space between theouter pane and the inner pane.

In still another embodiment, a boss and a guide ring of a sealing memberare formed separate, and a bellows-shaped plate is insertedtherebetween.

In further another embodiment, for the sake of a moisture-tight andair-tight seals, a pair of O-rings is arranged between both sides of theboss of the sealing member and the outer and the inner panes, one O-ringbetween the liner and the guide ring of the sealing member, and anotherO-ring between the socket of the fixing member and the hemisphere partat the top of the fixing bolt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevation of part of the outside of a glass wall assemblyconstructed using sealed double glazing units according to theinvention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a double glazing unitaccording to the invention and a fixing member for fixing the doubleglazing unit.

FIG. 3 is a partially sectional view showing in detail a fixing memberfor fixing to a supporting member one form of sealed double glazing unitaccording to the invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a sealing member for sealing sealeddouble glazing unit according to the invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken from the line A-A′ of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of a sealingmember for sealing sealed double glazing unit according to theinvention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken from the line B-B′ of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a partially sectional view showing in detail a fixing memberfor fixing to a supporting member another form of an sealed doubleglazing unit using the sealing member as shown in FIG. 6, according tothe invention.

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway view showing a boss of the double glazingunit according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken from the line C-C′ of FIG. 9

FIG. 11 is a partially sectional view showing in detail a fixing memberfor fixing to a supporting member another form of the sealed doubleglazing unit using the sealing member as shown in FIG. 10, according tothe invention.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing yet another embodiment of a sealingmember for sealing the sealed double glazing unit according to theinvention.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken from the line D-D′ of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a partially sectional view showing in detail a fixing memberfor fixing to a supporting member another form of the sealed doubleglazing unit using the sealing member as shown in FIG. 13, according tothe invention.

FIG. 15 is a partially sectional view showing in detail a fixing memberfor fixing to a supporting member another form of the sealed doubleglazing unit using O-rings according to the invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiments according to the invention are described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings below.

As shown in FIG. 1, in order to construct glass wall assembly fromdouble glazing units, the fixing holes are punched at 4 to 8 positionsin double glazing units, and in an embodiment according to theinvention, the constitution of mounting double glazing units by usingfixing holes at 4 positions therein is illustrated.

A countersunk hole 101′ and a hole 102′ are punched as fixing holes atthe corners of an outer pane 101 and an inner pane 102, respectively,each fixing member 300 is inserted into the holes 101′, 102′, and thefixing member 300 is fixed to a cross-shaped supporting member 200 toconstruct glass wall assemblies 100.

The fixing member comprises: a socket 301 inserted into a liner 400which is fitted with a countersunk hole 101′ in the outer pane 101; abolt 303 having a hemisphere-shaped head 302 formed integrally with thebolt 303 at the top thereof, which head is inserted into the socket 301and has flexibility; a nut 305 fastened with the thread part of thesocket 301 passing through the hole 102′ in the inner pane 102; a rubber307 and a bush 306 through which the bolt 303 passes, for providingclearance; a rubber plate 310 and a washer 308 through which the endportion of the bolt 303 passes; a nut 309 fastened with the end portionof the bolt 303, wherein around the constricted throat portion, a rubberring 311 is fitted for the sake of the yielding effect.

As set forth above, around the holes 101′,102′ in an outer pane 101 andan inner pane 102 of double glazing unit, into which the fixing member300 is inserted, the sealing member 1 according to the invention isprovided to reinforce heal insulation and supporting properties.

An outer pane 101 which is 6-19 mm in thickness and an inner pane 102which is 5-15 mm, between which a sealing member 1 according to theinvention is arranged, have a moisture-tight and air-tight seals andmaintain proper clearance by silicon compound 600 and a sealing member500 of a aluminum spacer, around the periphery of which hygroscopiccompound is applied to obtain heat insulation and soundproof effect, thecountersunk hole 100′ is punched at the corner of the outer pane 101,the hole 102′ which faces the hole 101′ of the outer pane 101 and has8-10 mm larger diameter than that of the hole 101′ in the outer pane 101is punched at the corner of the inner pane 102, the liner 400 which is2-3 mm shorter in length than the width of the outer pane 101 isinserted into the hole 101′ not to pass through the hole 101′, and afixing member 300 to be fastened to the sealing member 200 of thebuilding wall is inserted into and passes through the liner 400.

As shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, the sealing member 1 according to theinvent ion comprises: a guide ring 11 having the same diameter as thediameter of the liner 400, outer peripheral surface of a front end ofthe guide ring 11 which extends to approach the bottom of the liner 400fitted into the countersunk hole 101′ in the outer pane 101 is fittedwith the inner peripheral surface of the hole 101′ in the outer pane101; a plurality of connecting parts 12 which extend outwardly from atleast three positions in the middle of the outer peripheral surface ofthe guide ring 11, for preparing the sealing space 14; a ring-shapedboss formed integrally with the guide ring 11 and the connecting parts12, two sides of the ring-shaped boss attached to the inner surfaces ofan outer pane 101 and inner pane 102 with butyl.

The connecting parts 12 are formed from one or more positions in theleast thickness to be required for the support while providing a sealingspace 14, the connecting parts 12 bridging the guide ring 11 and theboss 13 of the sealing member 1, thereby facilitating to apply sealingcompound 700 to seal the sealing space 14.

Further, the sealing member 1 is integrally formed with metal orreinforced synthetic resin materials, is preferably made of syntheticresin material in consideration of the productivity, the fabricatingcost and weight or the like, and may be made of metallic materials, suchas aluminum or stainless steel when requiring larger double glazingunits and the reinforcement of the supporting force. The first sealingof the sealing member 1 is described in detail below.

When fitting the guide ring 11 with the hole 101′ in the outer pane 101after applying butyl to both side surfaces of the boss 13, first, oneside surface of the boss 13 is attached to the inner surface of theouter pane 101 and thus is positioned, and then the other side surfaceof the boss 13 is also attached around the hole 102′ in the inner pane102 and to the inner surface of the inner pane 102.

At this time, when sealing space 21 is filled with typical siliconsealing compound 700, the sealing compound 700 is distributed uniformlyin the sealing space 14 while incoming into the space 14, and then thefilling process is finished when the sealing space 21 is filled up withthe sealing compound 700. By this, since the sealing compound 700 doesnot soak out from the sealing space 14, an additional cutting process isunnecessary. The second finishing sealing process is conducted byapplying sealing compound 701 after inserting the socket 301 into theliner 400 fitted with the hole 101′ in the outer pane 101, and thus themoisture-tight and air-tight properties are improved.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6 to FIG. 8; in another embodiment of theinvention, the bottom of the liner 400 inserted into the countersunkhole 101′ in the outer pane 101 to protect the outer pane 101 during thecoupling of the fixing member 300 extends approximately to the hole 102′in the inner pane 102, the sealing member 1 a have a boss 13 and aconnecting parts 12 integrally formed without a guide ring 11 in thesealing member 1, and the free ends of the connecting parts 12 contactwith the outer peripheral surface of the liner 400 a, thereby formingthe sealing space 14.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9 to FIG. 11, in yet another embodiment of theinvention, the width of a guide ring 11 is the same as those ofconnecting parts 12, the bottom of the liner 400 a inserted into thecountersunk hole 101′ in the outer pane 101 extends approximately to thehole 102′ in the inner pane 102, and inner peripheral surface of theguide ring 11 contacts with the outer peripheral surface of the liner400 a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12 to FIG. 14, in still another embodiment ofthe invention, a boss 13 and a guide ring 11 of the sealing member 1 care formed separate, and instead of connecting parts 12 for providingthe sealing space 14, a bellows-shaped plate is inserted therebetween,thereby forming the sealing space 14 by providing the plate 15 for thesealing member 1 c.

Also, as shown in FIG. 15, for the sake of a moisture-tight andair-tight seals, a pair of O-rings 30 is arranged between the boss 13 ofthe sealing member and the outer and the inner panes 101,102, one O-ring40 between the liner 400 and the guide ring 11 of the sealing member 1,and another O-ring 50 between the socket 301 of the fixing member 300and the hemisphere part 302 at the top of the fixing bolt 303.

The arranging process or sealing process of the above-mentioned sealingmember 1 a, 1 b, 1 c is conducted by the same process as that of thesealing member 1.

As set forth above, according to the invention, a seating member havingsimple structure, and arranged on the coaxial position with the hole inouter pane is provided, the filling of the sealing compound is easy andadditional cutting process is unnecessary, thereby improving theproductivity and the quality of an sealed double glazing unit.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sealed double glazing unit comprising: an outerpane 101 having a countersunk hole 101′ punched in a corner thereof; aninner pane 102 having a hole 102′ punched in a corner thereof, andopposed to the hole 101′ in said outer pane, said hole in said innerpane having a larger diameter than that of the hole 101′ punched in theouter pane; a liner 400 inserted into the countersunk hole 101′ in theouter pane 101, a bottom of said liner extending into without passingthrough the hole in the outer pane; a fixing member 300 fixed throughthe liner 400 to a supporting member 200 of a wall body of a building; asealing member 1 engaging the holes 101′, 102′ in the outer pane 101 andthe inner pane 102 to seal said holes together with a sealing compound,said sealing member including a guide ring having a same diameter as adiameter of the bottom of said liner, a front end of said guide ringextending to and contacting with said bottom of said liner; aring-shaped boss 13 concentric with and encircling said guide ring, saidring-shaped boss 13 having an inner diameter larger than an outerdiameter of said guide ring 11 such that a space is formed therebetween;a plurality of connecting parts 12 bridging said space between the outerdiameter of said guide ring 11 and the inner diameter of saidring-shaped boss 13; and said supporting member 200 having a holethrough which a bolt 303 passes and is fastened with a nut
 309. 2. Thesealed double glazing unit according to claim 1, wherein an outerperipheral surface of said front end is fitted with the inner peripheralsurface of the hole 101′ in the outer pane 101, and said ring-shapedboss 13 has a smaller width than a width of the space defined by saidinner pane 102 and said outer pane
 101. 3. A sealed double glazing unitaccording to claim 1, wherein the bottom of said liner 400 a passesthrough the hole 101′ in the outer pane 101 and extends to the vicinityof the hole 102′ in the inner pane 102, and said sealing member 1 acomprises: a ring-shaped boss 13 having the inner diameter larger thanthe outer diameter of the liner 400 a and having smaller width than thatof the space defined by said inner pane 102 and said outer pane 101; anda plurality of connecting parts 12, the free ends of which contact withthe outer peripheral surface of the liner 400 a.
 4. A sealed doubleglazing unit according to claim 1, wherein the bottom of a liner 400 apasses through the hole 101′ in the outer pane 101 and extends to thevicinity of the hole 102′ in an inner pane 102, and said sealing member1 b comprises: a guide ring 11, the width of which is the same as thoseof the connecting parts 12 and is smaller than that of the space betweenthe outer pane 101 and the inner pane 102, and inner peripheral surfaceof the guide ring 11 contacting with the outer peripheral surface of theliner 400 a; a ring-shaped boss 13 having the inner diameter larger thanthe outer diameter of the guide ring 11 and having smaller width thanthat of the space defined by said inner pane 102 and said outer pane101; and a plurality of connecting parts 12 which bridge said guide ring11 and said boss
 13. 5. A sealed double glazing unit according to claim1, wherein the bottom of said liner 400 extends without passing throughthe hole 101′ in the outer pane 101, and said sealing member 1 ccomprises: a guide ring 11 having the same diameter as that of thebottom of the liner 400, a front end of said guide ring 11 extending toand contacting with said bottom of the liner 400, a rear end thereofextending to the vicinity of the inner surface of said inner pane 102,and outer peripheral surface of said front end fitted with the innerperipheral surface of the hole 101′ in the outer pane 101; a ring-shapedboss 13 having the inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of theguide ring 11 and having smaller width than that of the space defined bysaid inner pane 102 and said outer pane 101; and a bellows-shaped plate15 intervening between said guide ring 11 and said ring-shaped boss 13.6. The sealed double glazing unit according claim 1, wherein a firstpair of O-rings 30 is arranged between both side of the boss 13 of thesealing member 1 and the outer and the inner pane 101, 102, a secondO-ring 40 is arranged between the liner 400 and the guide ring 11 of thesealing member 1, and a third O-ring 50 is arranged between a socket 301of fixing member 300, and a hemisphere part 302 at ahead of the fixingbolt 303, thereby accomplishing moisture-tight and air-tight seals.
 7. Asealed double glazing unit comprising: an outer pane having acountersunk hole punched in a corner thereof; an inner pane having ahole punched in a corner thereof, and opposed to the countersunk hole insaid outer pane; a generally cylindrical liner inserted into thecountersunk hole in the outer pane, a bottom of said liner extendinginto, without passing through, the countersunk hole in the outer pane; afixing member fixed through the liner for securing the glazing unit to asupporting member; a sealing member for engaging the holes in the innerand outer panes, said sealing member including a guide ring having asame diameter as a diameter of the bottom of said liner, a front end ofsaid guide ring extending into said countersunk hole and abuttingagainst said bottom of said liner; a ring-shaped boss concentric withand encircling said guide ring, said ring-shaped boss having an innerdiameter larger than an outer diameter of said guide ring such that aspace is formed therebetween; a plurality of connecting parts bridgingsaid space between the outer diameter of said guide ring and the innerdiameter of said ring-shaped boss.
 8. The sealed double glazing unitaccording to claim 7, further comprising an O ring inserted between saidfront end of said guide ring and said bottom of said liner for providinga moisture-tight and air-tight seal therebetween.
 9. The sealed doubleglazing unit according to claim 7, wherein each of said plurality ofconnecting parts is an elongated member having first and second ends,said first end contacting said guide ring and said second end contactingsaid ring-shaped boss.